Merkel to address British parliament and have tea with the Queen

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is making a visit to Britain today to speak to both the Head of Government and the Head of State.

The leader of Europe's richest country is to address both Houses of Parliament and have tea with the Queen during a one-day visit to the UK.

Mrs Merkel will follow in the footsteps of other leaders, such as Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan, in addressing British MPs and peers.

The last time a German chancellor addressed both Houses of Parliament in Westminster was in March, 1970. Willy Brandt came and met Harold Wilson and expounded at length in English.

As well as holding talks with Prime Minister David Cameron she will also talk with the leaders of the other two main parties - Labour's Ed Miliband and Liberal Democrats' Nick Clegg, the Deputy PM.

Germany is one of Britain's biggest allies in the EU but Merkel, like other EU leaders, is worried that the British people may vote to leave the EU in a 2017 referendum.

Cameron is hoping to persuade Mrs Merkel to accept the need for EU treaty changes that would allow him to return powers from Brussels before a promised referendum on Britain's EU membership in 2017.

The Guardian reported on Wednesday that Berlin was prepared to offer "limited opt-outs" to the UKover its future compliance with existing EU directives and to make sure some other regulations were more flexibly enforced.

Angela Merkel to give symbolic address to UK Parliament

27 February 2014BBC News

Angela Merkel is widely regarded as Europe's most powerful political leader

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to address both Houses of Parliament and have tea with the Queen during a one-day visit to the UK.

Mrs Merkel will follow in the footsteps of other leaders, such as Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan, in addressing MPs and peers.

She will later hold talks with the three main party leaders.

David Cameron is pulling out all the stops as he sees the German leader as crucial to his aims in Europe.

He is hoping to persuade Mrs Merkel to accept the need for EU treaty changes that would allow him to return powers from Brussels before a promised referendum on Britain's EU membership in 2017.

The Guardian reported on Wednesday(external - login to view) that Berlin was prepared to offer "limited opt-outs" to the UK over its future compliance with existing EU directives and to make sure some other regulations were more flexibly enforced.

David Cameron has spoken of his enormous admiration for Angela Merkel

'Disappointed'

The newspaper said it was a sign of the lengths that Germany was willing to go to to ensure the UK remained a member of the EU amid fears in Europe that a referendum could lead to British withdrawal.

But the BBC's Berlin Correspondent Stephen Evans said sources close to Mrs Merkel were playing down expectations of new proposals for the kind of changes British Conservatives wanted to see.

One Merkel adviser said: "Those expecting a thunderbolt in the speech will be disappointed."

Instead, Mrs Merkel will offer warm words about Britain and her desire to keep the country in the EU. But, says Evans, people close to the German leader are also expressing dismay that, as they see it, the British government has not come to them to spell out what changes it wants.

Although not an official state visit - Mrs Merkel is not head of state - the trip has been planned for months, with both governments aware of its political significance at a time of looming change in Europe.

Mrs Merkel is expected to speak for half an hour, in German, in front of an invited audience of dignitaries in the Palace of Westminster, including MPs, peers, diplomats, business and cultural leaders.

Leaders previously accorded the honour of addressing both House of Parliament include French Presidents Charles de Gaulle, pictured above, Valery Giscard d'Estaing and Francois Mitterrand, US presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, the Tibetan opposition leader the Dalai Lama, Burmese politician Aung San Suu Kyi and former Russian president Boris Yeltsin - click here for a full list(external - login to view).